Author Archives: mwillee

Intellectual property (IP) is having its moment in the sun, but often not for the best of reasons. For every story heralding the importance of IP in business, there are multitudes more indirectly doing the same thing when discussing the latest lawsuits over copyright or patent infringement or co-founder feuds over who holds the rightContinue reading “Ten IP Startup Mistakes, Part One”

Too often, startups make mistakes with their company’s intellectual property (IP) that could have been easily avoided. You can read the first part of the series here.

Our internet culture hurtles ever forward, bringing our global conversations forward while simultaneously leaving more of us beyond a certain age behind. I’m talking, of course, about memes. Internet memes have become the common language that we never knew we needed, and perhaps didn’t want. Nevertheless, it is upon us, and people from around theContinue reading “Grumpy Cat Wins Copyright Suit, Remains Displeased”

Our first event of 2018 was the Darwin Challenge: Defending Technology Adoption,  hosted by Evolve Law and Above the Law and sponsored Wolters Kluwer, Integra Ledger, and VortexLegal. The Darwin Challenge provided a new twist on our old Darwin Talk format – instead of merely presenting their ideas, presenters would have to answer questions onContinue reading “Darwin Challenge: Defending Technology Adoption”

The business of freelance work can be fraught with complications not otherwise experienced with employees, especially when intellectual property is involved. Contracts have to be specific about ownership of the work created once it is transferred from the creator to the contracting party. And use beyond what was originally agreed can complicate matters, as aContinue reading “Freelance Writers Win Copyright Suit Against Publishers”

We devote a lot of writing in this space to the issues and concerns of small businesses and startups, but there is an entire subset of professionals that are part of the business ecosystem that is often forgotten, and that is the independent artists and creators that can produce the work that are often neededContinue reading “Using Creative Works to Grow Your Business”

Television can be fertile ground for copyright lawsuits, given the amount of creative work that goes into producing a single episode of original programming, to say nothing of the hundreds of scripted programs that now exist across the largest number of channels and streaming platforms that have ever existed in the history of the medium.Continue reading “Copyright Lawsuit Against HBO Dismissed”

We may look at the romance novels we see at supermarkets or airport shops as something of a joke, with overwrought titles and lascivious covers. But romance novels are a big business; according to the Romance Writers of America website, romance novels account for over $1 billion in sales and make up 34% of theContinue reading “Romance Novelist Turns Trademark Troll”

You can read part one here.

Technology has given us more access to available information and an incredible ability to disseminate our own messages. The internet allows us to see stories and pictures and videos from all over the world from the comfort of our devices, and the phone in our pocket can capture our experiences with high quality pictures andContinue reading “Intellectual Property and the Challenges of Technology, Part One”